The Lombard Street Riot, sometimes called the Abolition Riots was a three-day race riot

Race riot

A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...

 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 in 1842. The riot was the last in a 13-year period marked by frequent racial attacks in the city. It started on Lombard Street

Lombard Street (Philadelphia)

Lombard Street is an east-west street in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It runs from Front Street, near the Delaware River, on the east, to 27th St., near the Schuylkill River, on the west....

, between Fifth and Eighth streets.

Background

In the early decades of the 19th century, there were significant increases in the city's African-American population as large numbers of freed

Freeman (Colonial)

Freeman is a term which originated in 12th century Europe and is common as an English or American Colonial expression in Puritan times. In the Bay Colony, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. In Colonial Plymouth, a man did not need to be a member of the Church, but he had to be...

 and fugitive slave

Fugitive slave

In the history of slavery in the United States, "fugitive slaves" were slaves who had escaped from their master to travel to a place where slavery was banned or illegal. Many went to northern territories including Pennsylvania and Massachusetts until the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed...

s joined other immigrants in Philadelphia. During the twenty-five years prior to the run of riots, the city's African American population grew more than 50%. At the same time, there were increasing numbers of Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 immigrants, who were also separated from the larger society by their generally rural backgrounds, as well as by their Catholic religion. Given European political and religious tensions and the British occupation of Ireland, there had long been strong anti-Catholic feeling among many American Protestants.

During the years immediately before the riots, there were periodic outbreaks of racial, ethnic and religious violence among Irish Catholic

Irish Catholic

Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...

s, German Protestants, African Americans and even pacifist Quakers

Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

. These were the result of social and economic competition, especially between Irish Catholics and African Americans, who were generally at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Many Irish refused to work on labor teams with African Americans, adding to the difficulties of both groups in getting work.

The riot

On the morning of August 1, 1842, a parade was held by over 1,000 members of the black Young Men's Vigilant Association on Philadelphia's Lombard Street between Fifth and Eighth Streets in commemoration of the end of slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 in the British West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

.

As the paraders neared Mother Bethel Church

Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church

The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1794 by Richard Allen, an African-American Methodist minister. The church has been located at the corner of Sixth and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since that time, making it the oldest church property continuously...

, they were attacked by a mob of Irish Catholics.

Requests to the Mayor and police for protection initially led to the arrest of several of the victims and none of the rioters. Over three days of attacks, the Second African American Presbyterian Church, the abolitionist Smith's Hall and numerous homes and public buildings were looted and burned, many of them destroyed. The mayor had credible evidence of a plan to burn several local churches, which he ignored.

Eventually, as the rioting began to quell, the local militia was brought in to restore order.

Aftermath

Afterward, the mayor refused to arrest most of those known to have led the riot. Of those arrested by the militia, most were found not guilty or otherwise released. The three or four who were convicted received only light sentences.

Historical marker

In March 2005, the Pennsylvania Historical and Cultural Commission approved a historical sign at Sixth and Lombard streets to mark the event. It reads

Lombard Street Riot — Here on August 1842 an angry mob of whites attacked a parade celebrating Jamaican Emancipation Day.
A riot ensued. African Americans were beaten and their homes looted.
The rioting lasted for 3 days. A local church and abolition meeting place were destroyed by fire.

The marker was the result of work by a class of Philadelphia students challenged by their rookie history teacher to research a race riot in the city and argue for its significance. After researching the riot, the students decided that the event was an aspect of a significant part of the city's history that is often ignored. Petitioning for the marker was their way of highlighting the racial intolerance often left out of versions of city history presented to tourists.

The marker stands at Philadelphia's first public recreation facility, Starr Garden, which is a popular playground.